These Bruises Run Deep
by blondebabe11
Summary: Annabeth finds out a devastating secret of Percy's, and swears not to tell. What happens when the gods find out (not from Annabeth). How will each god deal with Percy's secret. How will Percy deal with everyone knowing? Rated T for slight violence. Only going to be a couple chapters, maybe 2 or 3.
1. Chapter 1

Percy sat by the lake, and took off his shirt. He was wearing a blue swimsuit and his messy black hair fell into his green eyes. He had just come from sparring with Annabeth, and he was all cut up and bruised; a slash ran down his arm, he had a bruise on his eye, and he had scratches up and down his legs.

"What would happen if you couldn't magically make your cuts disappear?" Annabeth crossed her arms and came over from the woods. She sat down next to her beat up boyfriend. Her messy, blonde curls were thrown up in a knotty pony tail, and she wore her orange CHB shirt and a pair of jean shorts. Her knife was sheathed, and she leaned back on the grass, soaking up the late afternoon sun.

Percy laughed, "Then you couldn't hurt me every day," he joked. He kissed her cheek, and took off in a jog down the dock. He jumped and dove in perfectly, making no splash. Annabeth rolled her eyes; 'showoff' she thought. He came back up from the lake, 5 minutes later. He smiled and he pulled himself back on the dock, and casually walked back to Annabeth.

"How are ya feeling?" she asked, closing her eyes again. She felt drips of water on her cheek, and opened her eyes to a surprise kiss from her boyfriend. She giggled and sat up.

"I feel great, Wise Girl," he said, standing up. He offered her his hands, and she took them. He pulled her up, and she wrapped an arm around his waist. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and they walked back to Percy's cabin.

"Do you feel good enough for me to beat you again tomorrow, Seaweed Brain?" Annabeth asked, and Percy stuck his tongue out at her.

They reached the cabin, and walked in. Annabeth sat on Percy's bed, while he grabbed a clean shirt to throw on. The air smelt like the beach, and there was a refreshing breeze flowing through the low, grey building. Shells and coral decorated the walls. Annabeth looked on a shelf, and noticed a picture she hadn't before.

"Perce, when did you put this picture up?" Annabeth asked; she knew it was recent, because she never missed a detail...ever.

Percy looked over his shoulder, and noticed the picture. His face got nervous and his eyes widened. He ran over, and grabbed the picture from his girlfriend's hands. He threw it inside his drawer, covering it with some shirts. "Nothing, nothing. Tyson must have found it when he was cleaning the cabin and put it out before he left. But it's nothing. Nothing," he said, hastily. He wrung his hands nervously, and went back to looking for a clean shirt. He settled on his CHB shirt, and put it on.

Annabeth raised an eyebrow, "Why do you not like that picture?"

"Um...well there is a thumb in it, and it's blurry..." Percy stumbled over his words, and sat down on his bed.

"Whose thumb was it?"

"My mom..."

"Percy, your mom is in the photo with you," Annabeth sat down on his bed, gently.

"It's Gabe's," Percy said, shutting his eyes. He opened them again, and jumped off his bed, "Hey, wanna find Grover? I'm starving,"

"Who is Gabe? Don't change the subject on my, Percy!" Annabeth warned, pulling him back down.

"Gabe is nobody. He was my stepfather. Not anymore, so it doesn't matter," Percy said, his voice filled with anger, worry, and nerves.

"Why do you sound so scared?" Annabeth asked softly, tilting her head.

"I'm not scared!" Percy said, in a rush. He took a deep breath, "Gabe was a drunk, smelly old nobody. That time is over,"

"What time is over? Percy are you hiding something from me?"

"Nononononononono i'm not. No. Nope! Nope-"

"-you suck at lying," Annabeth crossed her arms.

"I knew that would come back and kick me in the ass," Percy shook his head.

"Perce..." Annabeth looked at him in the eyes. Seeing her kind grey eyes made Percy sigh.

"Don't tell anyone, okay?"

"Percy, come on. I promise, now tell me,"

"You have to swear on the River Styx,"

"If it will make you tell me! I swear on the River Styx not to tell anyone your secret," Annabeth raised both her eyebrows in worry, and scooted towards Percy. He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand.

"Gabe, sorta bullied me,"

"What do you mean...bullied?" Annabeth choked out.

"Like...stole my money and stuff,"

"Is that it?" Annabeth was holding back tears.

Percy shrugged, "He sorta maybe pushed me around a little. It's nothing,"

A tear fell down Annabeth's cheek, "Percy," she choked, crying into his shoulder. He hugged her, and put his chin on her hair.

"Annabeth I'm fine. Nothing I couldn't handle. I was barely home, anyway. I usually went to boarding schools,"

"Percy, who else knows about this?"

"Nobody. Don't tell! Especially not my mom, okay?" Percy squeezed Annabeth, who sniffled, stopping her tears. She wiped her face.

"How old were you?" she was scared for the answer.

"10, 11, 12," Percy answered, remembering how relieved he was when he figured out he could get rid of Gabe forever with the Medusa head. It helped him sleep a little easier at night.

"Percy, no," Annabeth whimpered. Percy pulled her back, and she looked up at him. He smiled, "Annabeth it's all over. I haven't seen him in 4 years. I'm fine, I promise. It wasn't that bad. Plus, I showered at nights, and the bruises would clear up. I just thought they weren't heavy enough to bruise that long. Little did I know I was a demigod," Percy kissed her forehead, and wiped away her tears.

Annabeth sniffled, and suddenly there was a bright flash. Percy hugged Annabeth tightly, and closed his eyes. When he opened them he saw familiar 12 faces staring down at him and Annabeth. Their eyes flamed a sorrowful flame, and their faces were worried. The two love birds were in the throne room of Olympus.


	2. Chapter 2

"Perseus," Zeus said, sternly. Percy stood up a little straighter, and tapped Annabeth on the arm. She looked up at him, and his green eyes swirled with a silent warning: please stop crying.

Annabeth wiped her eyes, and sniffled. She looked at her feet, as Zeus continued.

"Perseus, new information has been presented to us...we want to confirm it before making rash decisions," Zeus sat down in his throne. Percy looked from each god and goddess, observing.

Dionysus was pretending to sit back with his chalice, but the way he sat was in an interested manor.

Aphrodite had a steady stream of tears down her face, yet her makeup was still perfect. She had a box of tissues in her lap, and it was almost empty; a pile of damp tissues on the side of her throne in a pile.

Artemis had her 12 year old arms crossed, and had a terrifying scowl on her face, muttering about the horribleness of men.

Athena sat up strait, like always. She was composed, yet her face was soft and sad; unlike her usual calculating face.

Demeter was holding in tears, but some slipped down. She tried to act more composed, but it wasn't working. Her shoulders were slumped, protected.

Hera had a shocked look on her face, and was fooling around with her.

Percy couldn't bring himself to look at his father, because he seemed too broken when they had been flashed. He quickly passed over Poseidon, who was breathing deep trying to calm himself.

Ares sat back with his arms crossed, looking grumpy like always. However his aura was less violent...much less violent… as if trying to make Percy feel welcomed with the gods.

Apollo was fiddling with a liquid in his hands, but his face was full of sorrow and anger.

Hephaestus was looking at his feet, not good with human interactions.

Hermes had half on his face buried in his hand, and he looked at Percy sadly.

"What are you talking about?" Percy asked. He knew why the gods were so sad, but he didn't want to say it again. Bringing Gabe up once was enough for him for one day...for one year.

Zeus nervously spoke, "Well, Perseus...We were having a meeting, when Poseidon felt like you were in trouble. We all focused in on you, and we overheard a conversation-"

"Percy what happened!?" Poseidon asked, unable to hold his longer. Like a broken dam, everything came running out. "How could you not have told anyone? How could I not have known!? How!?"

"Nothing happened!" Percy defended, and Apollo offered him and Annabeth each a drink. Percy took a sip, as did Annabeth. Annabeth set her glass of water down, and looked at Percy. He was swaying uneasily, and his eyelids seemed to droop. His eyes closed, and he fell to the floor. His fall was cushioned by the air, but none-the-less, he was knocked out cold.

"What did you give him?" Annabeth tried to control her tone, knowing how picky the gods were.

"Nothing toxic, just a medicine. It will allow us to divulge inti his past, and figure out what happened," Apollo explained, magically cleaning up Percy's spilled drink.

"Why do you want to do that? It's an invasion of his privacy!" Annabeth wailed, looking to her mother.

Her mother looked down at her, with a concerned expression. She wore simple jeans and a plaid shirt, with her dark brown hair messily braided down the side. She got up from her throne, and shrank down to Annabeth's side. She put a protective arm on her shoulder, "Honey, we need to see how serious this was. We need to know if we need a new rule in which we can set up a trigger with our children, so we can bless them if they are incapable of helping themselves,"

"That's what Camp is for!" Annabeth cried, and her mother shook her head.

"Daughter, you know firsthand how hard it is at camp at such a young age. We need to protect the innocence while we can,"

"But mother..." Annabeth couldn't find a counterargument. She hung her head, her blonde curls bouncing dejectedly. Her eyes had gotten a little duller than they were.

Percy was motionless on the ground, except for the slight movement of his chest contracting and expanding. His messy black hair hid his face, and Annabeth held in her tears. She wasn't going to let the gods see her cry.

"So what are you planning on doing?" Annabeth asked, her voice weak.

Athena rose back to her godly size, sitting on her throne. "Apollo's medicine will help clarify memories. Dionysus will help pull out these memories, and we will observe them from a 3rd party standing,"

Poseidon was gripping his trident so tightly, his knuckles were white. His jaw was tense and defensive, and his aura raged with anger. Hermes nervously talked with him through their minds:

-Um...Lord Poseidon? Reports say that there was a massive hurricane and a tsunami...

-What about it

-You need to calm down, for the mortals sakes. We can't kill them all because there is a handful of rotten men.

-You think I don't know that?! Percy is my favorite and he was abused!

-We don't know the extent. Maybe it wasn't that bad.

-We will see

Poseidon controlled his anger a little, making the sea stop raging. He controlled it enough to protect the mortals, but boats were still in harm's way.

Dionysus cleared his throat, "Memory play back in 3... 2... 1-"


	3. Chapter 3

A bright flash engulfed the gods, and a broken Annabeth.

"Where are we?" Annabeth asked. Athena put a finger to her lips, and winked at Annabeth, telling her she could figure it out.

They were in his memories.

A small boy of 11 years old came through the doorway. He wore basketball shorts and a sweatshirt with the hood up; but the hood couldn't contain his messy, wavy black hair that hung just to his eyebrows, growing into his eyes. His swirling green eyes, full of happiness and innocence shone bright. An 11 year old Percy ducked through the kitchen, trying to go unnoticed.

"Hey, punk, where are you going?"

Percy stiffened, and turned around. A large, atrocious man came through the doorway holding a beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other. Little Percy seemed to suppress a gag, as did most of the goddesses.

"Not your business, Gabe." Percy said, crossing his arms. He tried to seem strong, but his eyes wandered around the room, not looking at Gabe. It seemed to be the first time he had done that, since Gabe raised an eyebrow.

"Trying to be tough? Huh? Nice try, punk," Gabe waddled over to Percy who tried to take a step away. Gabe pushed him into the wall, and he hit his head against it. He yelped and rubbed his newly forming black and blue forehead.

"Still tough?" Gabe spat, and Percy shrunk. Gabe pushed him down, and Percy landed on his elbow, full force. He rolled on his back and clutched it, squeezing his eyes from the pain.

"So where were you going?" Gabe asked, standing over Percy.

"Basketball courts...I just needed my basketball," Percy whispered, and Gabe grunted and walked back to the TV, where he bathed in his own filth and stink.

Percy pulled his hood back, and he rushed to his room. He ran to his closet, and hurriedly searched for his ball. He got a nervous look on his face, and sat on his bed. He took a deep breath, and looked out his door in the direction of Gabe.

Annabeth hated not knowing. She hated not having known Percy's secret, or even not knowing what little Percy was so nervous about right now. Then she realized...

Percy got off his bed, and quietly walked to the kitchen. His hands were jittery, and his green eyes were nervous. He took a step to the family room.

Gabe was sitting there, eating the bean dip that he had Sally make. Percy crouched down, and crawled to the side of the couch. Sitting a few feet away was his orange basketball. He reached his little arm out to try rolling it to himself, but Gabe saw.

"What are you still doing here, runt?" he asked, getting up. Percy's eyes wandered to the basketball, and Gabe's eyes narrowed. "Your basketball? The one I almost tripped on? You don't get it back, runt. I'm throwing it out soon enough,"

Percy's eyes started to water, but he wiped the wetness away quickly, "But-"

"No 'buts' kid! I'm the adult, so I'm in charge," Gabe pushed Percy again, and he hit the wall with a sickening thud. He held his back, and a sniffled a tear. He was strong- he always has been. Gabe pushed him again, and Percy let out a small, weak yelp as he flew around the room, being pushed by Gabe. Finally Gabe got tired, and sat back down, turning the volume to his game back up. He took a swing of beer as little Percy pulled himself out of the room. He walked slowly back to his room, and sat on his bed. He was holding his arm, and wincing at the pain. He had landed on it hard, and a bruise was already forming on forearm.

Bruises colored his arm and he laid down and winced. He sat up, and pulled off his hoodie and teeshirt, revealing a large bruise on his back from being tossed into the wall. Percy gently rubbed the black and blue spot, but pulled his hand back after the pain. He rolled his shoulders, and stretched his arms out, releasing the tension.

He walked to the bathroom, quietly so Gabe didn't hear. He took a quick shower, letting the cold water envelope his body in a hug. Little did he realize that when he got out, his bruises were starting to fade and the pain receded. The water had made him better, yet he didn't know. All he knew is that he couldn't wait to go to Yancy Academy in the fall.

The gods and goddess along with Annabeth were yanked out of the memory, and were back in the throne room. A confused Percy was sitting up, rubbing his head. He looked at Annabeth, and her tears made him frown.

"Annabeth, what's wrong?" He asked. She wrapped her arms around him and gently squeezed; he smelt like an ocean breeze and was warm and comforting.

"Percy you said it wasn't bad,"

"It wasn't! I told you it was nothing i couldn't handle!" Percy said, hugging her back and resting his chin in her princess curls.

Annabeth shook her head, "I saw," she whispered.

"We all saw," Zeus said, and Poseidon shrank down to human form. Annabeth pulled away from Percy, and stood a few feet to his side.

"Perseus...Did the pushing happen every day?" Poseidon asked quietly. His face was sad, and he looked deep into Percy's green eyes. The same green eyes he had always had- full of wonder and kindness.

"No, Dad. I went to boarding school, it wasn't bad," Percy said, truthfully.

Poseidon looked at him cautiously, "What if you didn't get better by water?" he asked, questioningly.

"Then I would be pretty badly beaten up from all the monsters and from sparring with Annabeth," Percy joked, and Poseidon shook his head.

"I meant how would you look by non-god related forces,"

"...Not amazing but not bad?" Percy said, quietly. Poseidon took a step back, and waved his hand in the air, like he was cleaning a board.

Percy's eyes widened as he looked down and saw bruises along his arms. He was spotted with them, most small but some a good size. He looked at his dad, ashamed.

"Percy, take off your shirt," he said, scared. Percy did as he was told, wincing a little from a painful bruise on his shoulder. Taking off his orange shirt, Percy revealed a few bruises on his abdomen, but the large one from when the memory was clear as day- right in the center of his back, a red swatch of skin surrounding the bruise. He touched in, and a tear escaped his cheek in memory.

Poseidon wiped his hand again, and the bruises vanished. All that was left was a lean Percy with a six pack. Kind, honest Percy who loved the water. A strong, confident Percy.

"Perseus, I want you to be honest," said Poseidon, "What was the worst?"

"When I was 11, I think, I wanted to get a basketball..." Percy told the story of the memory they had seen. The other bruises were from less forceful bruises or trips. Nothing too damaging, said Percy.

"He terrorized you!" Annabeth cried, holding Percy again.

"But I stood up to him, as many times as i could," Percy said, strongly. He raised Annabeth chin, and wiped a tear away.

"All gods in favor of protecting all underage demigods in pain from non-godly related sources, say I" Zeus asked.

"I," said Poseidon, looking at Percy. The rest of the gods nodded and said "I" as well. Thunder boomed.

It was done.

"From now on, any demigod child in need of assistance from an abusive home shall receive said assistance," said Zeus, and all gods nodded in understanding.

"Percy, I am sorry for everything that happened to you," Poseidon said, a tear rolling down his cheek.

"Honestly, it's fine. I've been through much worse. Like a war with a titan," Percy smiled, lightheartedly.

"I love you, and I'm so sorry," Poseidon said, hugging his son. Percy hugged him back, and then grabbed Annabeth's hand. Zeus flashed them out, and they sat on the beach for the rest of the day, enjoying each other's embrace.


	4. AN

**AUTHORS NOTE:**

**I have this story marked as complete, but I have gotten a few requests to continue. I may consider adding a few more chapters, but if so only one or two.**

**I'm currently working on a story, so be patient.**

**Thanks!**

**Keep the comments coming!**


End file.
